Minami x Aki
by lquaky2j
Summary: Akihisa finally makes the right decision in Baka and Test. Find out how strong personality and character trump overt girlish charm.
1. Chapter 1

Narrator (in usual dull voice): Akihisa Yoshii has never had a girlfriend. He is an idiot after all. Lucky for him, some girls tolerate his idiocy. In fact, there are two girls who've inexplicably fallen in love with him: Mizuki Himeji and Minami Shimada. Which one of these girls will he chose? Surely they know they can do better?

Baka and Test: Me, Mizuki, and Minami

Fumizuki Academy's student body was buzzing over the Tokonatsu's challenge to the 2nd years. Three checkpoints had been cleared, but the latest duo, Akihisa and Minami, had to withdraw after the latter had fainted. It was up to Yuuji and Shōko now. Most of the students elected to watch the pair's entry on the gigantic screen in the gymnasium. Akihisa however stayed by Minami in the nurse's office.

As he waited for Minami to regain consciousness, the young man reflected on recent events. He thought about the misunderstanding which caused Minami to kiss him on the lips and the resulting fallout which started a war with class D. Even though she seemed to have forgiven him, Akihisa still felt guilty over his mishaps. He knew full well that he had developed feelings for Minami after all their adventures together. But mistakenly texting her a confession was not the way he wanted to express them. Today, he was determined to rectify his actions.

Before he came to Fumizuki Academy that day, Akihisa was at the last place any of his friends could have expected him to be: the library. After meeting Minami for the first time, it was here that he had searched for the German phrase which meant "Could you become my friend?" Unfortunately, the idiot learned the French phrase instead and thus caused enormous frustration for his German speaking classmate. It wasn't until a year later that she had told him why she couldn't understand him at first. Sitting at a desk covered by several translational texts, Akihisa dutifully crammed one more phrase into his thick skull. This time, he double checked to make sure the phrase he memorized was indeed German.

Once more considering the pain he caused Minami in the past, Akihisa gazed at Minami's gentle face while sitting at her bedside. He didn't want to hurt her ever again. Sensing a soft wind blowing in from an open window, Akihisa stood up and shut the window. After he had done so, he heard a small groan from Minami. She had finally woken up.

Minami (somewhat groggy): Aki… what happened?

Akihisa (nervously grinning and scratching the back of his head): You kinda fainted during the challenge. I helped carry you back here after that. Shōko and Yuuji are in there now.

Minami (back to her usual self): Oh… well, you didn't have to do that you know! I would have woken up sooner if you didn't put me in such a comfy bed!

Akihisa: Maybe… but listen Minami.

Minami: Hmm?

Akihisa: I was thinking about everything that's been happening and I feel awful about it. I promise not to hurt you anymore.

Minami: What are you talking about Aki? If this is about that text, I've already…

Akihisa: No, Minami. It's about more than that text. It's about the day we first met. It's about the movies we've gone to. It's about the vacation we took together. It's about all the times our avatars have battled together. It's about when you and I shared our first kiss. What I'm trying to tell you Minami is that I.. I… well…

Pausing for a moment to remember what he wanted to say, Akihisa slowly recalled the words he wanted to utter.

Akihisa: Könntest du…. meine Freundin werden?

Minami (with wide eyes): What did you just say?!

Akihisa: Könntest du meine Freundin werden?

Minami: (silence)

Akihisa (dismayed): Oh no! I'm not saying it right am I?

Minami (looking down and smiling): Ich werde deine sein.

Akihisa: Um… What's that mean? (Realizing Minami speaks German when she's upset) I hope I'm not upsetting you Minami! I knew this was stupid of me to a-

Minami grabs Akihisa and with her arms around his neck, she kisses him. Just like the first time, the sweet touch of her lips against his leaves Akihisa stunned.

Minami (smiling and with tears in her eyes): I couldn't possibly be happier right now Aki. You really said you want me to be your girlfriend didn't you?

Akihisa (surprised at how well his confession has been going): Yeah I guess I did Minami.

Minami: And you really mean it? This isn't like last time?

Akihisa: Absolutely Minami. When you first kissed me, I was confused at first. But I quickly realized how incredible it feels to be close to you. Telling you that I didn't mean to send that text was one of the hardest things I've had to do. It's true I didn't mean to send it… but I knew that day when you kissed me that we could actually have something together.

Minami (blushing): There's something I have to tell you Aki.

Akihisa: What's that Minami?

Minami: I overheard what you said to Miharu. That you can be yourself around me and that you think I'm… hot.

Akihisa bowed his head to apologize and braced himself for a headlock.

Minami (with a slight smile): I've known that I liked you for a while now, but I was too scared to tell you. I figured I was too much like one of your guy friends and that Mizuki was more your type. But you really do care about me don't you Aki?

Akihisa (nervously): Yes, Minami! More than that… I love you.

Minami (overjoyed): Aki! I'm so glad to hear you say that! I'm sure you've guessed it by now but… I love you too!

Akihisa (shyly but happily): I was hoping you'd say that Minami…

Minami (more serious): There's just one thing though. Mizuki is definitely going to be upset about this. I would be too if the situation were reversed. As her friend, I need you to patch things up with her. She deserves a chance to tell you how she feels at least… Okay Aki?

Akihisa (impressed with Minami's maturity and loyalty to her friend): Yeah, you're right Minami. It's not going to be easy to explain all this to her, but I do owe her that much.

Minami (with her distinctive confident smile): Good! Just promise me you really mean all this Aki.

Aki (with sincerity): I promise you Minami.

Minami (brightly): Ich liebe dich!


	2. Chapter 2

Standing atop the school roof, Mizuki Himeji looked at Akihisa Yoshii expectantly. With the sun on its way toward setting, she had just confessed to him. After months of holding it in, she had finally worked up the courage! Optimism resonated within her heart as she suspected Akihisa reciprocated her feelings. Already she was planning on trying out a new recipe for her soon-to-be boyfriend to enjoy on a picnic. How could he possibly not be as excited as she was!

But something was wrong. Akihisa did not look as happy as she anticipated. In fact, he seemed distressed. Did he not hear what she just told him?

"Well, it is Akihisa after all," Mizuki thought to herself, "Maybe he needs a little longer to process the information. How cute!"

"Mizuki…" he began before biting his lip.

"Here it comes!" Mizuki held her breath.

"You know I care about you a lot. You've always been there for me and I'll always be there for you. Having you in class 2-F is so much fun. Any guy would be lucky to have you. For the longest time, I thought about asking you to be my girlfriend."

Mizuki blushed and smiled widely, thinking her affections were being returned.

"But Himeji…" Akihisa sighed, "I love someone else."

"Oh…" she said softly, fighting back tears. Her efforts were in vain. Quickly, tears began to trickle from her eyes.

"Please don't cry Himeji," was all Akihisa could think to say.

"How can you say you love someone else? You made it seem like you only had had eyes for me Akihisa!" she bellowed between sobs.

No more words exited Yoshii's mouth. This situation was beyond his capabilities to handle. The best he could do was look down and wait for Mizuki to settle down. The two stood there speechless for some time before she managed to cease her crying. With her eyes now red, she frowned while staring somewhat coldly at Akihisa.

"It's Minami isn't it?" she guessed with annoyance. Before Akihisa could confirm her supposition, she cut him off.

"Well, I hope you're happy with her. I never would've guessed you'd pick her over me," she spoke with contempt in her voice. She started to walk away in a fury, but Akihisa grabbed her arm.

"Listen, you know this wasn't easy for me. It's not like she's better than you or anything. There's like, an indescribable connection between her and me. It wouldn't be fair to you, me, or Minami if I ignored it. Don't think for a second that I don't like you Himeji. I like spending time with you. Please keep being my friend," he pleaded with her.

Growing a bit calmer, the pink-haired girl folded her hands in front of her chest.

"Akihisa, I'm tired of just being friends. What can I do to make you love me? Tell me, I'll do anything. Whatever you do, don't leave me like this…" she begged in desperation.

As much as her words pained the dull young man, he stuck to his convictions. Mizuki was a smart, pretty, kind and gentle girl. Yet for all her pleasing attributes, she was not the one for Akihisa. That distinction belonged to Minami and nobody could take it from her. Even someone as incredible as Himeji. Some guys would kill to have the problems this kid has.

Speaking of which, the FFF had been watching Yoshii on that rooftop. Ever since his kiss from Minami, he was under their constant surveillance. They had heard everything that was spoken just now. The spies which had been eavesdropping departed clandestinely and went to report their findings to Sugawa.

Mizuki, with one final look of sadness, turned from Akihisa and left. The latter sat down in defeat when she had done so. His guilt over perhaps leading on Himeji ate at his conscience. Reflecting over what he had told Minami and Mizuki, he realized in his heart that he made the right decision. Difficult as it was, he had no other choice. He loved Minami and that was all there was too it. Given time, Himeji would understand.

Akihisa exited Fumizuki Academy with the sun's final rays of the day illuminating the country. Though he had expected the schoolyard to be abandoned, he found Yūji, Hideyoshi and Kōta were all talking in a huddle by the school's gate. Knowing he could not slip by them, Yoshii naturally joined their conversation.

"Hey guys," he greeted, "what did I miss?"

"Yūji and Shōko kicked Tokonatsu's butt. Guess we really didn't need you at all," Hideyoshi calmly explained.

"I'm not the one who fainted out there! I was only looking out for Minami you know," he defended.

"Whatever man. It's over now. But since you brought her up, Shimada looked pretty happy when she left today. I also noticed Himeji leaving looking pretty upset a little while ago. Does that mean what I think it does?" Yūji astutely inquired.

"I asked Minami to be my girlfriend today," Akihisa proudly declared. His pride vanished when he recalled what transpired next.

"But then… Himeji told me that she liked me. I tried not to be a jerk about it, but I had to turn her down. Of course, she knew it was because I liked Minami. To be honest, I'm kind of worried about…" he was interrupted with a punch to the gut.

"OW! What the hell was that for?"

"Sorry Akihisa. I had no choice. If you're serious about dating Shimada, then you can't obsess over Himeji anymore," Yūji replied with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"He's right you know," Kōta endorsed, "You'll need to hand over any photos of Himeji that I've given you. And before you ask, I don't give refunds."

"Uhhhh… yeah I guess…" Akihisa reluctantly reached into his wallet to return several pictures which featured Himeji. Kōta quickly swiped them away as soon as they became visible.

"Good news is that I'll have premium shots of Shimada starting tomorrow. It'll cost you three times the regular price, but it'll be worth it now that you two are an item."

"And just why do I need _you_ for pictures of _my_ girlfriend?" Akihisa asked indignant.

"I suppose there are always other customers to sell them to," Keota indifferently replied.

"Oh hell no! I'll pay whatever you ask. Nobody's looking at Minami but me!" Akihisa fiercely declared.

"Hey, maybe you should also get rid of any pictures of me. You don't want her think you're into guys," Hideyoshi spoke up, hoping to take advantage of the situation. The other three boys stared at him with puzzled expressions.

"Why would she think that?" Yūji wondered.

"Because I'm a guy!" Hideyoshi redundantly exclaimed.

"Very funny Hideyoshi," Akihisa laughed, "But I'm not getting rid of these pictures just yet. They could be worth millions once you become a famous model and actress!"

"Actress?!" Hideyoshi grew impatient. However, he knew better than to argue the point further.

"Alright, enough of your jokes Hideyoshi. I have something serious to say now," Yūji commanded.

"Listen Akihisa, we've always been there for you man. You're the biggest idiot in our class, but we all love you. That being said, there may be some trouble in store for you. The FFF is definitely going to catch wind of this, and Miharu Shimizu from class D is probably already stalking you. And your sister… Well, we'll do our best to protect you but in case we can't…"

Akihisa appreciatively waited for his friend to say something touching about how much their friendship meant to him.

"I'm gonna need that twenty bucks you owe me," Yūji finished with his hand outstretched.

"Hey!" Yoshii cried, "I am almost certain I paid you back already."

"You calling me a liar?" Yūji questioned his friend while getting in his face.

"I have you now!" a feminine voice echoed unexpectedly. Feeling a sharp pain in one leg, Yūji fell to one knee with his hand still stretched open. A diamond ring fell from the sky and landed perfectly in his hand. Shōko suddenly appeared in front of Yūji, blushing with both hands on her face.

"Oh my! Of course I'll be your wife! But only on the condition that we get married this evening. I already have a minister lined up and your wedding party appears to all be here. We better get going!" she mused.

Rising to both feet, Yūji took one serious look at Shōko. He then bolted in the opposite direction, and was soon chased by his would-be fiancé. Akihisa took that as his que to leave as well.

"See you guys tomorrow!" he called to Hideyoshi and Kōta, "I'm gonna head to Minami's and see if we can cook a meal together!"

Kōta and Hideyoshi waved goodbye to their idiot friend.

"Good for him," Hideyoshi observed with satisfaction.

"Hey, since love is in the air and all, I don't suppose you and me could…" Kōta started. Hideyoshi grabbed his friend by the collar in an effort to intimidate. His foot slipped accidently however and unfortunately his pants, which were caught on a nearby tree branch, ripped. Kōta struggled mightily for five seconds trying to focus his camera. Alas, he succumbed to his inevitable nosebleed and passed out. The last thing he saw was a pair of pink…

Meanwhile, Akihisa was at the grocery store. He had sent Minami a text asking if he could make dinner at her house. She agreed, on the condition that he would pick up the groceries. This was somewhat of a disappointment to the young man, who expected to use whatever ingredients the Shimada residence contained. Nevertheless, he dug deep into his pockets and purchased the necessary food items. When he had done this, he began his walk toward Minami's. Though the sky was beginning to turn black, Akihisa Yoshii's world was as bright as ever.


	3. Chapter 3

*Apologies for failing to update sooner. Life has been busy with school and an accounting internship. Since my earnest wish is for Baka and Test to air one more season (is the demand seriously not there? I have no idea what's stopping them), I would be remiss to leave this story at two chapters. My friends, let us all hope for the day we see more of the obvious chemistry Minami has with Akihisa.

 **Chapter 3**

"You're such a dummy!" Hazuki Shimada laughed while swinging her arms next to Akihisa Yoshi.

"Hey, I thought we finally agreed you would stop calling me that."

"I never said that. I said that dating my sister was smart of you. You're still a dummy overall," she said with a mocking wink.

"Pfft," Aki scoffed while pretending to be less annoyed than he actually was. He was happy to walk Hazuki to school as a favor to Minami, but he had hoped the younger Shimada sibling would go a little easier on him given his new relationship with her big sister. Something about the kid's innocent jabs hurt him a little more than they really should have.

"Well here we are, time for you to pick on someone else," Akihisa said as the two arrived at Hazuki's elementary school gate.

"Oh no, it would be rude of me to pick on anyone but you dummy!" Hazuki called back as she broke for the classroom building. Before vanishing completely, she blew a kiss back at Akihisa. This gesture was unappreciated by the young man, who felt the scornful glares of every nearby adult in the vicinity. Akihisa might have said something to try and clear up any misconceptions; however, he kept quiet. Ever since he started going out with Minami, he had been receiving helpful advice from his beautiful, German, flat-che–, slender girlfriend. One of the tips she had recently given him was to speak as little as possible in uncomfortable situations, given that he is simply unable to avoid making such situations better with his words.

" _Man soll kein Öl ins Feuer Giessen"_ Minami had told him, which is literally to say, "One should not pour fuel on the fire".

"In other words Aki, you will make things worse if you try and make them better without thinking," her words echoed in his head as he turned around, put his hands in his pockets and whistled onward to his own school.

"Man, I sure hope Minami made lunch for me again today. I'm finally starting to recover the games and manga I sold off to pay for food when my sister visited," Aki thought pleasantly to himself. The thought of her cooking caused him to instinctively drool a little.

Yes, things had been going well for Akihisa lately. Minami daily proved herself a strong and supportive girlfriend, his friends were making less fun of him, and even Iron Man had been going easier on Akihisa as he noticed the positive influence that spee nding more time with Shimada was having on Fumizuki's most notorious idiot.

If only the weather could reciprocate the positive vibes Akihisa was feeling that morning. Dark grey clouds formed overhead but at least failed to create raindrops.

"Hm, don't have my umbrella today…" he thought out loud.

"Don't worry Akihisa you can borrow mine!" A girly voice exclaimed from behind. Aki quickly turned around and found himself face-to-face with a certain pink-haired classmate of his, her extended hand clutching an umbrella right on que.

"Oh… hey Himeji," Aki scratched his cheek. He really hoped his friendship with Himeji wouldn't suffer because of the choice he was forced to make between her and Minami. But who was he kidding? Of course things were going to be awkward. Looking at her exaggerated efforts to be as kind as ever made him remember the guilt he had felt the day in rejecting her feelings for him.

"Clouds look kind of scary today. Though, I suppose that's appropriate..."

Himeji looked almost as sweet as ever, but there was an unmistakable tiredness underneath her eyes that betrayed her large grin and puffed dimples.

"Right on the spot when I need you huh?" Aki said half-heartedly, trying to make polite conversation.

"You-you need me?" Himeji gasped immediately.

"Wait, no that's not what I–"

The umbrella dropped before Akihisa could finish his sentence.

"No, of course you didn't mean it like that…" Himeji's words turned quiet. The two stood in unappealing silence for a moment before Himeji walked on without a word, leaving her umbrella behind on the ground. Akihisa had no idea what to say, but he did pick up hear umbrella and dusted off any dirt that may have found its way on to the fabric.

"That poor girl…" Akihisa thought to himself, "What was she saying before? The scary clouds being appropriate or something? Ugh, hell if I know what that means." The clueless boy walked solitarily onward to his destination, having stashed his old crush's umbrella in his bag.

Fumizuki Academy came into view within 5 minutes of the opening bell.

"Yes, another day on time! I'm really appreciating those wake-up texts Minami sends me." Akihisa smiled to himself.

"What's got you all chipper today Akihisa?" the familiar voice of Yūji Sakamoto confronted him.

"Oh you know, just happy to be alive," Aki pointed both his index fingers at his friend.

"Yeah? Well listen man, I'm really happy to her that!" Yūji responded.

"Hey Yūji?"

"Yeah, what's up buddy?"

"Could you tell me why you got me in a rear naked chokehold at the moment?" Akihisa struggled to articulate with the respectably strong arms of his friend wrapped underneath his arms and around his throat.

"Sure man, I'll tell ya why if you can tell me who gave Shōko the username and passwords to all of my social media accounts," Yūji candidly answered.

"I swear it wasn't–" Yūji's hold tightened, "Okay, okay I may have had something to do with it," Akihisa gargled his words.

"Alright spit it out then," Yūji released his friend and dropped his friendly tone. Akihisa gasped for as much air as he could upon the liberation of his neck.

"Kōta and I both got a letter from Shōko in our lockers instructing us to find out your passwords. She said she'd hire Kōta as the photographer for your wedding and she promised to pay for me and Minami's next date if I helped. You gotta understand!"

"Wow Akihisa, you're so whipped you'd sell out your best friend. I'd be touched if I wasn't so frickin' pissed at you!" Yūji started calmly before abruptly shouting.

"Now hold on a minute, what's so bad about this? We all know she wouldn't find anything suggesting you're into someone else?

"What? Akihisa that's not the point! Every time I log on now, my screen is blasted with ads for wedding chapels, wedding rings, tuxedos, cakes, honeymoon destinations! What happened to all the stuff I was interested in? Someone's gonna pay for this…" Yūji made another aggressive move towards Akihisa.

"Hold on what about Kōta? He's just as guilty as I am!"

"I don't see him around, do you?" Yūji grunted.

"No, but, come to think of it, I don't see anyone around!" Akihisa realized.

"Oh crap, you idiot, you made us late for class!" Yūji ran off toward the school building.

"Hey wait fo–"Akihisa's words fell short. He tasted a gag stuffed inside his mouth while his vision simultaneously went black. He could feel his arms and legs constricted by what could only be rope. A group of many different voices rang in his ears and he barely heard what any of them were saying. The only words that he knew for sure were said: "All that's left now is to send the ransom note to his girlfriend". After that, a heavy knock on his head sent him into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"There you are Sakamoto!" Iron Man scolded the instant Yūji rushed into the classroom.

"Honestly, you and Yoshii are truly exemplary examples of what a student should not be. Where is your friend anyway?" the instructor of class F asked.

"He should be right behind me sir," Yūji took his seat next to Hideyoshi and Kōta. None of the male students cared much how late Akihisa was going to be, but a certain yellow ribbon in the room perked up when its wearer heard Akihisa's name mentioned.

"Um, Iron Man sir, it might be my fault that Aki is late today. I asked him to walk my little sister to school today so I could run some errands this morning. Hazuki can be a handful sometimes, so it wouldn't surprise me if Aki had to take extra time getting her to school," Minami explained, doing her best to diffuse their homeroom teacher's wrath toward her ill-reputed boyfriend.

"Just when I was starting to consider lifting his probationary status too…Yoshii really is the biggest idiot I have ever known," Iron Man finished before going on with his morning lecture.

Meanwhile, Minami's eyes were ever vigilant, watching the classroom door for any movement that would precede Aki's tardy entrance. But after an entire morning, the doors never opened.

"Hey Himeji," Minami called to her more feminine friend after the lunch bell rang, "Did you see happen to see Akihisa this morning?"

"Oh no Minami, I'm afraid not. I wouldn't worry much though, you know how Yoshii is," Himeji uttered a pitiful giggle without ever turning her head to make eye contact.

The rift that was growing between the two was not lost on Minami, who nevertheless was committed to making their friendship last. She hated to think that hers and Aki's happiness meant misery for Himeji. Certainly, she would not appreciate being in Himeji's shoes. But Aki chose her, definitively. If Himeji cannot accept that, then there is only so much she can do. For now, she wanted to get to the bottom of wear Akihisa went to.

"You guys need to help me find out where Aki went off to," Minami said to the group of Hideyoshi, Yūji, and Kōta, who had already laid out their lunches and began eating as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Calm down Shimada, this is classic Akihisa. He's probably playing hooky to see some comic book movie or something," Yūji dismissively stated.

"You said he was right behind you this morning!"

"Yeah, well I guess I underestimated how lazy the guy is. Who gets all the way to school and then decides they don't want to go? You really got yourself a catch there, don't you Shimada?"

"Take this seriously, maybe that's something the old Aki would do, but he's better than that now."

"Whoo-tsh," Kōta snapped his wrist, teasing Minami for having domesticated Akihisa.

"Ack, ihr seid alles Arschlöcher," Minami swore in her native tongue.

"Don't know what that means, but I would prefer not to get involved in this," Hideyoshi said, quietly munching on his lunch.

"I don't like this," Minami grumbled as she went back to her desk. She instinctively pulled two boxed lunches from her bag, one of which was meant to be for Akihisa. It had officially been one month since the two classmates started dating. She didn't want to be one of those girls who got too excited about only a month of dating someone, but this was her first boyfriend after all. Minami asked Akihisa to take Hazuki to school that morning so she could make him a special lunch and wrap a present that she had bought for him a week ago.

In the poorly maintained and ugly classroom, Minami sat and ate her lunch in solitude.

"Of all the days for Aki to be absent…" she pouted as her ribbon drooped below her auburn hair. So busy Minami was moping about, she had failed to notice three FFF Inquisition members approaching her.

"Miss Shimada," one of the nameless members spoke up, jarring Minami out of her daydreaming.

"Yes?" She folded her arms and glared at the three figures.

"We've been asked to deliver this to you," a different member spoke, dropping a red envelop onto Minami's crooked wooden desk.

"What's that for?"

"I'm afraid we cannot say. You'll have to read it for yourself," the last inquisitor spoke. With that, the trio departed as eerily silent as they had arrived.

Annoyed but nonetheless curious, Minami ripped open the envelope, pulled out the parchment that was contained within, and began trying to decipher the poorly written Kanji. Whoever wrote the letter must have forgotten her limitations on reading Japanese. Her hand involuntarily moved to scratch her head.

"This hand writing is scheiße, I can't read this," she said to herself. Before she could completely discard the note, one combination of characters caught her eye.

"Hold on, there's something about Akihisa in here," she said aloud.

"Oh really, let us see that," Yūji snatched the note from Minami's hand. Hideyoshi and Kōta had also suddenly appeared around her desk. "Wow it says here 'if you want to spend time with Akihisa again, then you must compete in the school-wide competition that will be announced later this afternoon.' Guess we'll be signing up too then."

"So now you guys want to help me?" Minami sighed.

"Hey, we're as concerned for our buddy's well-being as you are," Yūji calmly answered.

"Yeah right, he probably just owes you money or something."

"That's not untrue. He hasn't paid me his latest invoice for 'Teasing shots of Minami, Vol. 6'," Kōta bluntly stated.

"You and I are going to have a char about that later," Minami explained while cracking her knuckles.

"At any rate, what's this about a school-wide competition? Wouldn't only teachers or the principal know about something like that before it was announced?" Hideyoshi pointed out.

"You could be right, but it wouldn't surprise me if members of the student council knew about it ahead of time as well," Yūji said.

"All right, listen up," Iron Man's powerful voice echoed, sending every student in class F back to their own desk. "There will be a special assembly in the auditorium at 3:00. Everyone here is expected to attend."

"That could be for the announcement this note is talking about," Minami pondered, "I hope this means I'm closer to finding Aki."


	5. Chapter 5

Most every student in Fumizuki Academy had gathered in the school's auditorium, anticipating the upcoming announcement from their school's administrative authority. In the very back of the room where the air ducts were especially cold and the speakers weren't especially loud sat the students of Class F.

"May I have your attention please," requested the principal of the academy through the speaker system. She stood on an elevated stage at the front of the room. Behind her sat a row of the academy's teachers and a few other important-looking adults. She waited until the voices from her students quieted into disconnected murmurs.

"We have an exciting new feature of the summoning system to announce." Despite her words, the principal showed no enthusiasm. The expression on her face was one of remorse. No member of the audience was perceptive enough to pick up on this however. After a semi-long pause, the principal continued.

"To better incentive you to make full use of the power of your avatars, the school's board of directors has authorized the system to be upgraded, allowing for greater offensive or defensive powers depending on your personalities."

Question marks appeared on the faces of the majority who were listening.

"So that we can test this new feature, we are also going to hold a new school-wide competition. We would certainly encourage everyone's participation, but none of you, except for the class representatives, are under any obligation to compete in this contest. Please keep in mind, these features are new and so by signing up for the competition, you waive your right to hold us liable for any damages suffered from potential bugs in the system. As in a summoning test war, your powers will still largely hinge on the results of your exam scores."

Fumizuki's student body was mildly interested, but none of this was particularly intriguing to those who had grown accustomed to the school's continuously evolving summoner system and innovative initiatives to get students to perform better in their academics. That was until a new figure took the principal's place at the podium.

"Hey kids! Aren't you stoked for these upgrades?" a younger man in a suave three-piece suit interjected. "My name is Susumu Arakawa; I sit on your school's board of directors. Normally, I wouldn't speak to you directly, but your principal is being a little too modest. Our expectation isn't for you to treat this like school as usual. We truly feel this new system is going to help make you even better students than ever, should you make full use of it."

With the appearance of this young and energetic man, the students in the audience had begun to listen more intently.

"This new competition will be a battle royal of sorts, where only one of you will be left standing. Your current class status will not matter; the only way to come out victorious is through your own strength. Additionally, the contest will take place within a designated portion of the Shizuoka prefecture. We believe this will even out the playing field for all of you who choose to participate, as most if not all of you will be largely unfamiliar with the lay of the land there. Please understand we worked extensively with the government, investing countless resources into this project. As such, we want you to take the exercise seriously. To that end, a prize of the winner's choosing will be offered at the end. So, let your imaginations captivate you, stirring you to do whatever it takes to win." The charismatic speaker ended his speech with an amiable smile and a polite bow before once again taking his seat in the back row.

"Ahem, well there you have it," the principal resumed, "Sign-up sheets will be passed around in each of your classrooms tomorrow morning. As stated previously, each classroom representative will be required to participate. The rest of you may volunteer at your discretion. Now then, I will take a few questions while all of you are here if you have any.

Several hands went in the air, most originating from the rows closest to the stage. Nobody in Class F could hear what questions were being asked and so they declined to pay attention to the answers.

"Great, another excuse for those jerks in Class A to pick on us weaklings."

"Why bother? It's not like any of us have a chance at winning something like that."

"Yeah I've got better things to worry about."

These were representative of the majority of conversations among members in Class F. However, there was one group of delinquents who bucked the trend.

"Well, you guys all read the letter those FFF creeps gave me," Minami said to Yūji, Hideyoshi and Kōta. "Not like you have any say in the matter anyway, Yūji," she went on.

"Eh, my buddy being held as some kind of ransom should be enough motivation for me anyways," Sakamoto altruistically explained.

"Yeah right, your biggest concern is stopping Shōko from winning this thing and getting whichever prize she wants," Kōta said.

"What? No, I mean, why would that have even crossed my mind in a time like this?"

"Deny it all you want, but we all know you," Hideyoshi chimed in.

"Okay so maybe that's a fortunate consequence, but I'm as serious about saving Akihisa as any of you… Hm, something wrong Minami?" Yuji noticed his female classmate with her cheek resting on her fist and a distressed look on her face.

"It's just that all of this seems so strange. How on earth does this have anything to do with Aki's kidnapping? All I know is Aki is missing and I have to compete in the new testing game to see him. Why does something like this have to happen right when things were starting to go good for us?" She began to pout.

The trio of boys looked at Minami with sympathy.

"Hey Shimada…" the three spoke simultaneously. But before they could say anything else, Minami's demeanor drastically transformed from one of sorrow to one of righteous fury.

"Das ist unverzeihlich!" [This is unforgiveable!] Minami exclaimed. "I'm not gonna let anyone mess with Aki and me now. He's mine and I am his. If I have to beat everyone in this school to save him, then so be it. I won't let anything stop me!" In that moment, Minami appeared to the three boys watching as some kind of super heroine.

"Wow Minami, you're so passionate," Himeji interrupted, appearing almost out of thin air. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. If you don't mind, I'd love to help you find Aki as well."

"Oh, well thanks Himeji. I appreciate the support." Minami smiled at her friend, doing her best to dismiss the miniscule suspicion in her head that Himeji had ulterior motives. Of course, Yūji, Hideyoshi and Kōta were more than happy to include Himeji in their ranks.

"Hold on a second guys," Kōta spoke up, "This isn't like usual. We aren't meant to team up in this summoning war. What are we planning on doing exactly?"

"Idiot, it's obvious. The letter said Shimada has to compete if she wants to see Akihisa again. That means whoever sent the letter already knew about this contest and is probably close to the people behind it, the ones who are offering the prize. Our goal is to get Shimada into first place. That way, she can ask to have Akihisa back as her prize no matter what. If any of us are left with her at the end of it all, we'll just forfeit. Right guys?" Yūji explained.

Before nodding their hands in agreement, Hideyoshi and Kōta sadly bid farewell to their respective fantasies of permanently being labeled a guy and having a business license to sell calendars of the best girls at Fumizuki.

"And if any of us happens to make it farther than Minami, then we wish for the same thing she would have," Himeji clarified. The rest of her friends nodded.

"Alright, it's settled then. Operation: 'Get our idiotic friend back to his violent girlfriend' is a go!" Yūji said with his hand clenched in a fist.

After the principal had finished taking questions, the students dispersed and went home for the day. The first thing Minami did when she got home was to open up a German-language book on Calculus that her father owned. She worked ferociously through every problem after reading the corresponding chapters thoroughly. Yūji began studying up on tactics used in guerilla warfare and other historical military strategies. Kōta ran through his notes on P.E. (while also ogling his collection of gym-short wearing girl pictures). Hideyoshi was content to do Hideyoshi things.

When the next morning came and the sign-up sheet was passed around Class F, five signatures were written down: Minami Shimada, Yūji Sakamoto, Kōta Tsuchiya, Hideyoshi Kinoshita, and Mizuki Himeji.


End file.
